The Cycle
by Infinity King
Summary: The world is a constant cycle - always repeating. A series of one-shots detailing the life of Shirou Uchiha, the son of Sasuke Uchiha.
1. The Cycle

**Word Count:** 293**  
Genre:** General  
**Category:** Naruto  
**Chapter Summary: **Shirou finds out who he really is - and the cycle continues.

* * *

The Cycle

by

Infinity King

* * *

The sounds of grunting filled the clearing. Two individuals within it were fighting – or at least one was. The older of the two was simply dodging the black haired youths attacks – quite easily, to be honest.

"You really need to learn to calm down," the blonde said, nonchalantly.

The teenager responded to the quip with a punch, which missed like all his previous attempts. The blonde finally moved on the offensive, grabbing hold of the teen's outstretched arm, and flipping him.

The black haired teen landed on his back, causing him to release a grunt. He stared up at the sky for a moment, tired, angry. So angry.

"… Why didn't you tell me?" The teen finally asked, exhaustion sapping him of his desire to attack the older man.

"Because I didn't think you were ready."

The Hokage offered the teen his hand, but it was ignored in favor of standing up on his own.

"You should've told me. It's my life."

"I wanted to protect you."

"Yeah, well, growing up not knowing who my parents were hurt – maybe you should've protected me from that."

The blonde sighed, and patted the young teenager on the shoulder.

"Believe me; you'll understand what I've done for you one day, Shirou."

Shirou met the blonde's eyes. "I doubt it."

There was a short, strained, pause.

Then Naruto broke the silence. "Come on, I'll take you to get some grilled tomatoes. I know how much you like 'em."

Shirou seemed hesitant, but begrudgingly nodded. "Fine."

Naruto smiled, and placed his hand on the teen's shoulder, guiding him away from the training ground.

Shirou sighed, allowing himself one last glance at the memorial stone before he was lead away.

_Sasuke Uchiha, huh? _

_I wonder what he was like._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Make of that what you will.


	2. Graduation

**Word Count: **830  
**Genre: **General  
**Category: **Naruto  
**Chapter Summary: **When Shirou is assigned to Team Seven along with Mitsunori Oonishi and Tsukiko Uzumaki, sparks fly immediately.

* * *

The Cycle: Graduation

by

Infinity King

* * *

The years graduating class was a rather loud bunch – like most teenagers, they seemed to enjoy making as much noise as humanly possible.

Of course, the moment there sensei entered the room they quieted down. Shino Aburame was a quiet man. He did not anger easily, and when he was angry he didn't show it.

Regardless, he was an incredibly intimidating man, and crossing him was not on the to-do list of any of the students in class that day.

The man adjusted his sunglasses, as the class stared at him, fidgeting with anxiety.

"Since the day you entered this academy – just four years ago – I have watched over you all, training you in the most logical way possibly. Now I let you off into the world of shinobi… a world which many believe you should not be allowed into.

Even I have… reservations… about sending fourteen-year-olds off into battle. But then again, that is not my decision to make. In any case, I have prepared you as much as I can, and now you are no longer my responsibility. I wish you luck. I will now reveal your team placement."

Tension immediately filled the class. They would soon know who they would spend their career as Genin with. They would soon know their teammates.

Over the next few minutes, a team number was called out, followed by three names. Groans of frustration could be heard when enemies were placed together, and cries of excitement when friends were.

Finally the last names were called, and the students turned soldiers gathered, some quite begrudgingly, with their new team – as they awaited the arrival of their sensei.

In the back corner of the room, Shirou Urase was leaning against the wall, a look of clear annoyance on his face. A passerby who knew Shirou might be surprised by this – he was generally an easy-going person, not quick to temper. Then they would notice the two people with him, and they would understand completely.

He had, like everyone else, been placed on a team. It just so happened that his team was rather… horrible.

To his left stood his first teammate, Tsukiko Uzumaki – the rather excitable daughter of the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. She was also the dead-last of the class, and incredibly energetic – so much so, that she was almost constantly fidgeting, and talked incredibly fast.

She was unofficially diagnosed by the rest of the class as having a rather hyper-advanced case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – though that was rather common among those who had larger amounts of chakra, and could be very useful against certain enemies.

Shirou's other teammate was Mitsunori Oonishi, the son of two civilians and the class's rookie of the year. Similar to Tsukiko, he was incredibly frustrating – for different reasons entirely, however.

He was incredibly opinionated, believing strongly in the rhetoric of Kiyonori Isozaki – a member of the Konoha Governance Committee. Conversations with him were scarce, as it was difficult for most people to deal with his constant complaints about the current governance of the village – specifically aimed at one Naruto Uzumaki.

His constant attacks on said leader of course lead to the ire of one Tsukiko Uzumaki.

"Take it back!" Tsukiko said, her voice trembling with anger.

In a way he could understand her frustration. Naruto Uzumaki was like a father to him – he had practically raised him, and even paid for the apartment he lived in – so he didn't entirely appreciate Mitsunori's comments about him. Unlike Tsukiko, however, he tended not to care about what other people thought.

"Take what back? The truth?" Mitsunori shot back, each word layered with contempt. "Since your father has taken control of this village, we've been in two separate wars – mostly due to his incompetence. Is this not the truth?"

His smug statement was met with a punch aimed at his nose, which he easily dodged before responding with a blow of his own – he, however, landed his attack. Tsukiko doubled over with a grunt, the strike to the midsection throwing her off balance.

"Like father like daughter. Of course your first instinct would be to attack - instead of attempting a more diplomatic solution."

Tsukiko balled her hands into fists, and replied fiercely "Shut up!"

"You're not even worth my time," Mitsunori said. "How does it feel to be worthless compared to the son of two civilians?"

"I'll kick your…"

Tsukiko was interrupted by the door to the classroom opening. The remaining rookies in the room (several had already been called out of the room by their sensei's), turned their attention towards the entrant.

White eyes stared back at them.

"Team Seven… come forward," the woman said, her face strict and apathetic.

There was a slight pause, before the named individuals complied.

The three stopped in front of the adult.

"I am Kanami Hyuuga, your sensei. Mitsunori Oonishi, Tsukiko Uzumaki and Shirou Urase – you'd best be ready. Because from here on out… you'll be going through hell."

* * *

**Author's Note: **While I originally meant for this story to be a one-shot, I have changed my mind due to the fact that I had a few more ideas for it. I have changed the summary to the story to reflect this.

I probably won't update this story often, but I am interested in continuing it. Chapters won't be in any particular order – this one takes place before the previous one, actually.

Feel free to critique, and point out any errors in spelling or grammar.

In any case, thanks for reading.


	3. War

**Words: **620  
**Genre: **General  
**Category: **Naruto  
**Chapter Summary: **Stupid summed up the situation rather well.

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The Cycle: War

By

Infinity King

* * *

Shirou shifted slightly, attempting (unsuccessfully) to become more comfortable. He needn't have bothered. When one is squatting is squatting twenty feet above the ground on the branch of a heavily decayed tree, it is almost impossible to become comfortable.

The shinobi occupying the small camp beneath his vantage point remained on edge. They were prepared for an attack. Smart, considering that was just what was about to happen.

The silent night was suddenly filled with screams of pain, as thousands of kunai came flying from the tree tops. The less experienced of the camp were instantly wiped out – most above chunin rank survived, however.

Shirou jumped down from his place on the branch. It was time to get to work.

They were in Konoha occupied territory in Bird Country – one of the many that now littered the nation. The shinobi below were fighting for the upstart village Torigakure – many of them were citizens of said village, many others were simply mercenaries hired to help in the war against Konoha.

They stood no chance, of course. For the past three months, Konoha had been easily marching through Bird Country, slaughtering anyone who resisted. Civilians and those that surrendered peacefully were usually spared.

Shirou dodged a shuriken thrown by a jonin, and quickly responded in kind. Shirou's aim was truer, however, hitting his target dead on.

Most of the shinobi they encountered were weak. Half of those Torigakure had entrusted with the rank of jonin were barely at chunin level – and many of the genin possessed only the barest of abilities with chakra.

The massacre was over in a few minutes. There were no casualties on the side of the Konoha forces.

Tsukiko and Mitsunori joined Shirou when the task of gathering up the bodies began. Most bodies were looted, then burned; some were claimed as bounties, others desecrated… none were buried. None were treated with any amount of respect.

Mitsunori was scowling – something which he seemed to do a lot lately. Being shipped off onto the front lines had done nothing to quell his dislike of Konoha's current administration – if anything, it had had the opposite affect.

Tsukiko was completely relaxed. A celebratory smirk played on her face, as she loudly asked how many enemies Shirou had taken out, and boasting that she had killed over seven separate enemies – at least three of them jonin.

The thought that she was talking about human lives didn't even enter her head. She was too innocent, too loyal to Konoha, to even think that what they were doing was wrong.

Shirou ignored her antics, while Mitsunori absentmindedly told her to wipe off the copious amount of blood that had collected on her face.

Tsukiko happily obliged. What had started as a rocky relationship between Tsukiko and Mitsunori had cooled down considerably over the past two years – Mitsunori had eventually decided that she just didn't have the capacity to accept his slightly radical views, and Tsukiko, being the innocent girl she was, didn't even hold a grudge against him.

Shirou subtly removed the genjutsu hanging over his eyes – he only needed it activated when his sharingan was in use.

"This entire situation is stupid," Mitsunori whispered to Shirou, once the trio was situated. It wasn't the first time he had said something like that to Shirou since the conflict had begun.

Shirou lazily turned his attention to Tsukiko.

Tsukiko had struck up a conversation with a small genin with braided hair. That is to say, Tsukiko was doing the conversing – the small genin was simply staring with amazement as Shirou's excitable teammate danced from topic to topic in the span of seconds.

"Yeah," Shirou said, agreeing with Mitsunori for once. "Stupid sums it up rather well."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hadn't expected to upload another chapter to this story so fast – however, honestly, I'm just writing it whenever I get a new idea. The chapters themselves take no more than twenty minutes to write.

Chronologically, this chapter takes place after both "The Cycle" and "Graduation".

I have no idea what the next chapter will be about, however I do have a rather barebones history set up regarding what the Naruto world currently looks like – I'm sure in future chapters I'll shed some light on those things.


	4. Old Friends

**Words: **519  
**Genre: **General  
**Category: **Naruto  
**Chapter Summary: **Naruto has a conversation with an old friend, and make

* * *

The Cycle: Old Friends

By

Infinity King

* * *

"Come on Shirou, let's play tag!"

Naruto chuckled as Tsukiko dragged Shirou of to go play. Next to him, Shikamaru felt the need to mutter "Troublesome."

He received only a smirk from his blonde friend in return.

"So, how has he been holding up?" Naruto asked, nonchalant.

"He's fine. Not troublesome, at lease," Shikamaru replied.

If one were to look upon the scene, they would notice a sharp contrast between the two – Naruto, standing tall, his eyes filled with unmistakable energy, and Shikamaru, shoulders pulled downward, looking as if all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Thanks again for taking him in."

"Don't worry. The wife enjoys having the kid around – she's mentioned wanting to take him in full-time, as well." Shikamaru said the last part like it was simply as off-hand comment. It wasn't.

Naruto's demeanor did not change on the surface. His smile remained brilliant, his eyes remained joyful… underneath it all, however, he was tense. This wasn't the first time a friend had mentioned an interest in adopting Shirou.

He changed the topic.

"Have you heard about the new upstart village, Torigakure?" Naruto asked. "Apparently it's been making waves."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "What are you thinking?"

Naruto's face was unreadable – his feigned expression still in place. "Nothing. Yet. I'm just making small talk, Shika."

Shikamaru's glare met his friend's eyes. It was tense for a moment, before Shikamaru calmed.

"Sometimes I think that you…" Shikamaru began. He didn't finish. He didn't need to. They both knew the end to the sentence. They both knew it contained the truth – the unspoken truth that neither really wanted to think about.

"Regardless of what people may think, everything I do is in the name of peace," Naruto said, as if replying to a statement Shikamaru had made.

"I know. But is it in the people's best interest?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto didn't respond. They remained in silence for the rest of the afternoon, content to watch Shirou and Tsukiko run around the grounds of the Hokage Mansion.

Finally, it came time for Shikamaru and Shirou to take their leave. While the two children said their goodbyes, Naruto had one final thing to discuss with Shikamaru.

"I'll be moving Shirou to his own apartment next month. I'll have Anbu watching over him, but he _will _have to rely on himself. I'd appreciate it if you were to stay away from him."

Shikamaru's expression was stoic, however his shaking hands betrayed his true feelings.

"Is that an order, Hokage-sama?"

"Does it matter?" Naruto asked.

"It does."

"Yes. That's an order." The Hokage said. His tone was no longer relaxed – it was the voice of a leader, strict and powerful.

Shikamaru grit his teeth. "Come on Shirou, we're leaving."

Shikamaru grabbed hold of Shirou's arm, and began walking, prompting Shirou to do the same.

The boy seemed surprise, but was still able to yell a quick "Goodbye, oji-chan!" to Naruto, who smiled warmly in return.

"Goodbye, Shirou," Naruto whispered. "I'm… sorry."

Naruto patted Tsukiko's head as they watched Shikamaru and Shirou walk away.

"One day I'll explain everything to you, I promise."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This is the first chapter I've really shown how Naruto is from a character standpoint. As you can see, his attitude has changed a bit since his teenage years. That may or may not be explained soon, however it will be explained.

Honestly, chapters are coming out much faster than expected for this project. I've really begun to hit my stride with it – primarily because I don't feel any pressure to have long chapters. Each one has only one scene in it, which really allows me to focus on specific aspects of it.

In any case, the next chapter won't come out too long from now (most likely). Until then, see ya.


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